Vernon Kay has revealed he didn’t start puberty until he was ’17 and a half’.
The 48-year-old presenter – who was hosting Monday’s episode of This Morning alongside Rochelle Humes – opened up on his experience after a mum called in to ask Dr. Sara if her seven-year-old daughter could be going through puberty.
Reflecting on his teenage years, Vernon said: ‘This is no word of a lie, this is God’s honest truth. I started puberty at 17 and a half. I’ve got stretch marks all down here [his side].
‘In lower sixth, I went away [high pitched voice] as a child, and upper sixth came back [deep voice] as a man. And no one recognised me! I went away 5 foot 3, came back 6 foot 4!’
His comments came as he encouraged the mum – who was using the pseudonym Helen – to talk to her daughter about her changing body, after Dr. Sara urged her to speak to her doctor, with eight years old being a typical age for puberty to begin.
‘Helen, from experience, the best thing to do is talk about it a lot. Everyone goes through puberty, everyone’s body changes, it’s a natural thing,’ Vernon said.
‘We’ve been through it, and it’s just – keep talking, talking is the best thing with teenagers and kids!’
And when the mum revealed she would sit her daughter down that day for the chat, he added: ‘Do it with a smile on your face, everyone goes through it.’
Helen revealed her daughter showed her hair under her armpits, and has also started with a body odour.
Dr. Sara said: ‘So, puberty, we say is kind of “normal” after the age of eight onwards. if she’s seven, she’s on that cusp so we would say it’s probably what we would call precocious puberty, a little bit sooner than we’d expect.
‘She also might have some other signs and symptoms. She might be noticing some little breast buds, maybe she’s getting a body odour… If that’s the case, then I would recommend you just need to see your GP because certain tests need to be done to see what’s going on.’
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
Credit: SourceYou can read this post on My Celebrity Life.